The Geography We is a story.It’s a story told by Caldera youth.It’s a story that comes to life with voices, imagination, and creativity.It’s a story of connection to Caldera, school, family, community, and each other.It’s a story expressed through artwork and the power of the creative process.

Air is Earth's living breath. Birds hitch to the sky. Lungs fill, windmills turn, jungles and cities draw life from the sweep of the same invisible air. We glimpse it in the spilling colors of sunset and the heights of the northern lights. We can feel it and taste it when we run. Air is forever changing, forever filling in the dark and playing in the light. What makes you feel free as a bird? What do you want to release into the air?

The universe is born of fire. Some fires we conjure, some we capture, and some grow wild. Others transform. A forest begins to heal itself after a fire; a once-still volcano erupts with power and beauty; soft, moldable clay becomes a sturdy structure in the heat of a kiln. How do you transform? What sparks you? How are you a part of transformation around you?

The sun is central to all living things on Earth. It is constant.We each move through life with a spark of sun inside us and our gathered light intensifies when we are together. Like the sun, we are dynamic and powerfully bright.Where is your brilliance? What is your energy source? How do you respond to flares and outages in your power? How do you shine?

Life is wild, and it is all around us.Among the animals, we learn to be tender, tough, and creative. Their beauty and diversity inspires us to great works of compassion and art. Wildlife helps us understand our unique position in the world–and to treasure nature everywhere it flourishes, even within ourselves.

The land is a great gift–and a great responsibility.It has always been our home and our most important resource. Our food, our water and our shelter all come from the earth. Its beauty inspires us–from its soaring, snow-capped mountains and deep blue lakes to its vast plains and rolling green hills. There are new mysteries to discover every day in the ground beneath our feet.

Environmental Mandala

Environmental Mandala

Campers explored and discussed different types of habitat—including riparian areas and burnt
and mature forest—and drew the plants, animals, and land formations they encountered in each
habitat. They considered how human activity at Camp Caldera influences, and is influenced by,
the living and natural world. Joining all their drawings together, the youth created a large
mandala, representing the Caldera ecosystem. The collaborative mandala was hung in
the community circle space in the Hearth Building.